Role of ICTs In Environmental Degradation: A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract

The present study contributes to the existing debate on environmental degradation by analyzing the role of ICTs, economic growth, renewable energy production, and environmental technologies on the carbon footprint as a proxy of environmental degradation. For this purpose, the study gathers the data of South Asian economies (Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) for the period 2001 to 2018 from GFN, World Bank, and OECD data sources. The study applied ARDL cointegration to test the hypothesized relationships among modeled variables. The bounds test confirms the significant association among modeled variables in the long run. The results of ARDL show the negative impact of ICTs on the carbon footprint for the economies of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, while exhibiting a positive impact of ICTs on the carbon footprint of Nepal. Similarly, the results of ARDL depict the positive impact of economic growth on the carbon footprint of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, while the negative impact of economic growth on the carbon footprint is being reported for the Sri Lankan economy. Likewise, the results of ARDL show the negative impact of renewable energy production on the carbon footprint of Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lankan economies. Lastly, the results of ARDL show the negative impact of environmental technologies on the carbon footprint of Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. This study provides significant policy implications such as the promotion of eco-friendly technologies along with an efficient source of energy to improve the environmental quality of the South Asian economies.